They have a lot to gain by reaching common ground

The world's two most populous nations have to progress on a constructive basis instead of hoping that contentions will vanish into thin air merely if they are ignored.

This attitude is exemplified at a trilateral summit of foreign ministers from India, China and Russia at Bangalore, India, in the last week of October. The bilateral meetings on the sidelines, too, did not seriously address many significant issues. What struck observers most forcefully was the fact that when the foreign ministers of India and China met they did not discuss the contentious issues that have recently raised tensions between the two countries.

So what is the way forward? To begin with, there must be a heightened awareness on both sides of disputed and undisputed borders that there is a great commonality of interests that can bind Beijing and New Delhi. These two capitals represent a significant truth in their own ways - that the center of global gravity is being redressed to some extent in favor of the Global South generally speaking and Asia in particular. China, especially, and India are emerging as more powerful voices in the international community as their economic and strategic muscle increases.

So India and China have the responsibility to together represent the interests of the Global South and Asia. The two most important areas in which the common interest can play itself out are negotiations on climate change and international trade.

Until Copenhagen and beyond, India and China ensured - along with South Africa and Brazil - that the positions taken by the developing world on climate change were not diluted or compromised in any way. Thus, the principles enshrined in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol must continue to remain the basis of all further negotiations until long-term realities change in the face of whatever pressure is exerted by the US and Europe. Developed countries will have to continue to take the lead in mitigating climate change by taking on stringent and binding emissions cuts. Southern solidarity is especially important after the developed world's attempts to scuttle the Copenhagen climate change conference.

The Doha round of WTO talks on an international trade regime continues to be stalled. Beijing and New Delhi must ensure that the conclusion of the negotiations must not happen at the cost of sacrificing the interests of the developing countries. It would be unconscionable to allow the US and Europe the kind of free access they desire in the financial and commodities markets before issues, especially of agricultural subsidies, are resolved. It is hardly a secret that US and European Union agricultural subsidies are making farming unviable in many developing countries - a phenomenon that not only undermines the livelihoods of the poorest people in the poorest parts of the planet, but also endangers global food security.

The realization that these commonalities exist will, obviously, not suffice. Beijing and New Delhi will have to use these common interests as a platform to launch a more meaningful process to resolve differences. Before proceeding further, a caveat is in order. It is not possible for the national interests of any two countries to be absolutely congruent. The two countries will always, thus, have divergent interests in the strategic as well as economic fields - especially in the pursuit of economic development, entailing competition for global resources and markets. The trick will lie in managing conflicting interests within what we can call a normalizing framework.

None of the disputes that have arisen recently are completely insoluble. The trickiest issues are, of course, Pakistan and the disputed territories between China and India. These are difficult issues, which will need the highest level of statesmanship to resolve.

Let us take the first issue first. Pakistan itself has suffered from international terrorism, especially recently, and fought it hard. China and India should help to make sure that Islamabad succeed in clamping down on terrorism. This should be through strengthening the hands of the civilian democratic establishment.

In November, US President Barack Obama visited China, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh paid a state visit to the US. None of this suggests that other bilateral talks should come in the way of a Beijing-New Delhi dialogue.

The territorial dispute between China and India is the most intractable issue. The only way forward is statesmanship and compromise. Both sides will have a lot to gain in terms of goodwill, regionally and internationally, if they take such diplomatic endeavor.

If these diagnoses and prescriptions sound utopian and naive, sober reflection on both sides, I think, would help to tease out the very real dividends of a truly cooperative approach - for both sides.

Finally, there is an additional point that relates to India. The Indian establishment and the strategic community - and the people as a whole - seem to suffer a lack of self-confidence in their dealings with the world. What India needs to do is not be obsessed with conspiracy assumptions and worry excessively about who is dancing whatever steps with whomever.

What it does need to do is to get its own act together in several key areas - poverty-eradication through inclusive growth and a more even distribution of wealth across social strata to fully unlock human resources potential; improvement of governance and delivery systems by reducing corruption and resource leakage; and advancement of systems in the areas of security and diplomacy that can equip it better to deal with the international community. That will automatically enhance its standing in the international community and ensure that it does not have to go around cap in hand lobbying for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council.

The author is a veteran journalist, political commentator and research fellow with the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Kolkata, India.

(China Daily 01/04/2010 page9)